Our group swims every Tuesday and Wednesday nights at 7:30 pm. Practice normally lasts about an hour and a half.
We use the 25 meter pool at Sportspark on Roosevelt Island. To get to the Roosevelt Island pool, you can either take the tram at 2nd Ave and 59th street (you can use a metrocard) or take the F train to the Roosevelt Island stop. If you take the F from Manhattan, exit towards the back of the train. After you leave the train or tram station, walk south on Main Street towards the Queensboro bridge; Manhattan will be over the water to your right. You'll see a domed racquet club with red awnings, and then a big brick building that says Sports Park, 250 Main Street - west side gym, east side pool. To get to the pool, you'll need to walk up the steps and along the concrete walkway toward the east side of the island. When you get halfway across the walkway, look through the windows to your right and you'll be able to see the pool; continue down the steps and through the double doors on your right.
Coaching is free to our members, but admission to the pool costs $5 and all swimmers are required to wear swim caps. Additionally, you just need a swimsuit, googles, a towel, and a lock for your locker. The entry fee is payable to the pool staff member at the counter; then change into your swimsuit in the locker room and meet us in the pool.
No, because we are not a member club of US Masters Swimming. We are a member club of USA Triathlon (aka USAT) but our athletes do not need to be USAT members to be covered under our insurance and participate in our activities. You do need to be a paid member of the Tritons, however.
Because our coaching is free, our training sessions are reserved for paid members of the club and we think you'll agree that the value received far exceeds the nominal cost of membership. You are, however, welcome to come swim with us to see how the program works and whether you would like to participate.
Beginner-level swimmers work on form and swimming skills, while the more advanced swimmers start out with technique drills and then move on to a custom workout focusing on distance, tempo or speed (depending on the week); on the last week of the rotation we have recovery swims and time trials to test each swimmer's progress.
Check out our mini-faq on pool etiquette.